(Clearwisdom.net) Once upon a time, there was a monk who cultivated in a temple. He was very diligent. At the time, the country was overrun by robbers and they were like savages. One night, a deity told the monk in a dream, “You are going to die tomorrow. There is a robber named Zhu Er, who rides a white horse. You owe him from a previous lives. You will not be able to avoid him this time.” The monk begged the deity, “I did many good things during this lifetime, I'm begging you to save me.” The deity said, “No, I cannot save you. Only you can save yourself.”

The next morning, a robber really showed up and took the monk captive. The robber demanded that the monk take him to the treasure and women. The monk noticed that the robbers horse was white and immediately remembered the dream of the previous night. He said to himself, “I have accumulated much karma, enough to cost me my life. If I take him to rob the treasure and give him the opportunity to rape women, I will gain more karma on top of my existing karma.” Therefore, he said to the robber, “I will not take you anywhere. Aren't you Zhu Er? I would rather have you kill me. It's enough for you to kill just me.”

The “karma” the monk talked about, is a black substance that exists in another dimension. When people commit bad deeds, they accumulate this black substance. This karma is the root cause for all illnesses, disasters and misfortunes one suffers. It is discussed in detail in the Falun Dafa book “Zhuan Falun.”

The robber was shocked to hear the monk's words. He asked, “How did you know my name? You must be a monk who has achieved a divine nature!” Then, the monk told him about his dream.

After hearing about the dream, the robber regretted deeply his misdeeds. He threw his weapon to the ground and said, “How could there possibly be an end to this karmic repayment! Although the deity said he couldn't save you, he already did. You did not lead me to commit more crimes. This is what saved you! From now on, all the karmic hatred between you and I is dispelled.” He then knelled in front of the statue and worshiped for quite some time, and then he left.

This story showed the absolute truth. Good deeds will bring rewards and bad deeds will result in retribution! Because of the monk's one benevolent thought, he saved himself and others. There is a proverb, “The inherent nature of man is good at his birth.” This robber Zhu Er had not been turned all bad, but could enlighten to the truth and still held goodness in his heart. He understood the principal, “There is no end to karmic repayment!” He forgave the monk, and benevolently resolved the karmic hatred of several lifetimes. He also changed from an evil to a good person. This is the best that could have happened! All this originated with the compassionate hint from the deity. Indeed, when people truly believe in deities and are respectful to Buddhas, the deities and Buddhas will be compassionate and help people.